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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. root — of a plant
  3. can — to be able to
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. clip — a video
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. root — of a word
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. net — in sport
  12. can — a tin
  13. chair — a leader
  14. can — a tin
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. root — the cause
  18. net — after costs
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. face — to confront
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. clip — for paper
  23. net — for catching
  24. clip — to cut

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com